Crews working to restore phone lines

People in Walworth County should be able to use their home phones and cell phones by 3 p.m. this afternoon, officials said.

Residents in parts of the county have been without phone service since a construction crew on Highway 50 damaged an AT&T Corp. fiber optic cable this morning, Walworth County Sheriff's Capt. Jay Maritz said.

Most of the home phones affected are in Delavan and Elkhorn, Maritz said. Phones in Whitewater, Lake Geneva and Pell Lake are working.

Depending on where a person is located and which company provides them with service, cell phones in Walworth County also are affected, he said.

"It's real hit and miss right now," Maritz said.

People can call 911 from their cell phones if they're getting service, he said.

Residents with land lines can call 911 from Elkhorn and Lauderdale Lakes -- even if their phones can't call anywhere else -- but the call is routed to the Walworth County Sheriff's Office, Maritz said.

Delavan residents can only call 911 from their cell phones, if they're working, he said.

Walworth County's 911 center uses Delavan's center as a backup, but Delavan also is down, Maritz said.

"It's kind of a double whammy," he said.